Myres Saddle Company, Papers, 1898-1969 and undated

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Born on November 22, 1871 in Johnson County, Texas, Samuel Dale Myres was the son of David Rittenhouse and Mary Jane Dale Myres. The oldest of six children, Myres opened the S. D. Myres Saddle Company in Sweetwater, Texas, in 1898. He was involved in many civic organizations including serving as president of the Sweetwater Commercial Club, serving on the local school board from 1914-1915, and being the mayor of Sweetwater from 1908-1911. In 1920, Myres moved his company to El Paso, Texas. The company became famous for its superior craftmanship and Myres mingled with many famous western actors and personalities of his day. Myres' marriage to Drusa Rogers produced three children - S. D. Jr., William James, and Melrose, and his second marriage to Eva Forkner resulted in no offspring. In 1953, Myres passed away and was buried in El Paso.

The Handbook of Texas has published a more in-depth online biography of Samuel Dale Myres at http://www.tsha.untexas.edu/handbook/online/search.html

Scope and Contents

The materials include correspondence, financial material, legal material, photographs of company products, and printed material consisting primarily of company advertisements, calendars, stationery, and catalogs.

Conservation Note: The collection contains 214 prints, many of which have some spots of mold growth. 19 of the prints were sent to the conservation lab due to very active mold growth, as well as 2 leaves of paper.

Restrictions

Open for Research

Related Material

For related materials located in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, see the following collections: